COUNCILS TO RECEIVE 4 PER CENT INCREASE IN FUNDING (with link to full list of figures)

Councils with education and social services responsibilities
will receive at least a 4 per cent increase in next year’s
local government finance settlement, local government secretary
Stephen Byers said.

Announcing the provisional settlement for 2002/03, Byers said
the government grant and business rates support would be increased
by £3.3 billion to a total of £47.3 billion, guaranteeing
councils an increase at least matching inflation, with most
receiving substantially more.

But he warned that money alone would not be enough to secure the
desired improvements in public services, adding: “The extra funding
must drive forward change. It must ensure that our programme of
modernisation and reform is implemented. So we must invest in
reform and insist on results by raising standards, providing choice
and improving quality.”

Councils and local government bodies now have a six-week
consultation period on the proposals to make their cases to
government.

For an introduction to the settlement, with guide and
consultation paper click
here (there is a link from this page to the
full list of figures)

Or to go straight to the figures for each individual
local authority click
here